For Eternity
by Emelina
Summary: Nothing can come between the love of Numair and Daine...they are truly in love...and their lives will be filled with happiness and joy, but what will change?
1. Love reigns

"Daine?" Numair entered their rooms carefully. It wouldn't be the first time that he had walked in and found numerous, large, dangerous animals sleeping on his lounge or desk. For once though, he heard and saw, nothing.

"Daine?" he repeated, slowly opening the door to their bedchamber. He saw her then, curled up under the covers, shoulders shaking with sobs. He crossed to her immediately, putting a gentle hand on her light brown curls. She jumped as if she had been burnt and wiped the tears of her cheeks furiously.

"Numair" she said, smiling slightly, "you're back early."

"Yes." He said quietly, "only this was not quite the reaction I had hoped for. What is wrong my love?"

"It – it is, nothing."

"Obviously not. You are certainly not one for weeping unnecessarily, one of your more redeeming qualities I might add."

She smiled grimly. "Would you care for a walk? I need to breathe a little."

"Of course." He helped her off the bed before realising that she remained in her bedclothes.

"My dear" he said gently, have you been abed all day?"

Daine nodded at her thin feet. Numair gripped her chin gently, lifting her face to his. "You will tell me what is wrong. You are too important to me. I will not ignore this, but for now, you need to dress." He pulled thin cotton breaches out of a small cupboard and tugged a shirt out of a draw. He left her to run cool water over a small cloth, returning to find her struggling with the ties on her shirt. He brushed her hands away before cupping her face in his hand and wiping it gently with the cool cloth. She sagged into him slightly and he felt her harsh breathing slow slightly before he kissed her lips.

Pulling away gently, he fiddled with the ties on her shirt, doing them up quickly, with obvious experience. He gripped her hand tightly and together they walked out into the palace gardens, finding a small incline to lie on as they watched the sky turn from a bright blue, to the husky tones of dusk.

Numair played with her curls gently, twining them around his fingers as the woman he had sworn to love eternally starred into the distance.

"Will you tell me? I cannot bear to see you this way." He said gently, his head resting on his arm as he turned to her.

"I am not sure how to tell you. I do not know how you will feel." She paused and he watched the tears return to her eyes. "I'm scared." She whispered.

"Of what?" he leaned over to brush a tear that had escaped from her tightly closed eyes.

For minutes there was silence. Finally she opened her eyes. "I am…with child…our child…" Unconsciously she touched her flat stomach.

Numair sprang into a sitting position. "You mean…you're saying… we're going to have a baby?"

Daine nodded, the tears beginning to flow freely again. Numair looked at her in confusion. "But, my love, why are you crying? Is this not a joyous occasion? Should we not be celebrating?"

"I don't know." Daine sobbed. "I'm so afraid."

"What is there to be afraid of? Is this not something that we have wanted?"

Daine looked at him wiping the tears of her face with the palms of her hands. "We have never spoken of it." She whispered her voice hoarse with tears.

"But, we love each-other." He looked at her in confusion before it dawned on him. "Do you think I will leave you?" he asked gently, pulling her up to sit on his lap.

"Are you saying you won't?" she asked turning to him.

"Of course not! Daine, I love you, I love that we will have children. Imagine…a little Daine, all sweet and curly haired." He grinned in spite of himself but stopped when he saw her serious expression.

"Daine, my sweet, you are all that I need in this world. Surly you know that? I would never leave you, I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He kissed her gently, brushing a hand over her cheeks and hair. "I could never be happier than I am right now. How could you not be happy? This is all I've ever wanted. Is it not the same for you?" he tilted her chin up to see her expression and saw that her eyes were clouded with fear.

"Please." She whispered. "Don't leave me. I could not bear it."

"Then do not think of it. I will be by your side for all of time, and beyond, and as soon as you are willing, we will be married. I would not want it any other way."

"I love you" Daine whispered, tucking herself into his lap, on hand firmly pressed around his wrist.

"I love you too, magelet." Numair kissed her brow, shivering in the delight of his true love, and his child.


	2. Fear is born

**As I am sure we all know, all characters in this story belong entirely to Tamora Pierce. **

Waking up next to the woman he loved every morning, was something that Numair Salmalin could scarcely believe. But as he watched the sun stream through the wide windows of their chamber, Numair couldn't have felt more blessed by the gods, nor any happier to just be alive.

As he watched Daine sleeping softly, he noticed that her cheeks that had last night been coated in tears had now returned their normal creamy colour with the slight flush that he was just beginning to realise as the glow caused by the child housed in her belly. Slowly, and oh so gently he reached out to touch the smooth skin on her stomach, marvelling that a small human being could now be living and thriving in there, in such a small, even, too small, space.

Daine stirred slightly and smiled as she opened her eyes slowly to see Numair hunched over her flat stomach with a confused look on his otherwise beaming face. He looked up as soon as he felt her gaze and grinned sheepishly.

"I was wondering how it fit in there." He said, embarrassed.

"From what Alanna told me, it's not bigger than a nut at the moment. I'm only a few weeks into the cycle."

"Can she tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Not as yet, it's not big enough yet. Soon though. Did you want to know?"

"I'd love to know, not that I mind either way; it would just be incredible to know."

"I think so too."

Numair touched her cheek gently. "You're not still worried are you? I want you to tell me everything you have on your mind, all the time, understood? We're in this together, that means you're not alone and I am here for you to dump everything on."

She grinned at him "I won't forget that when the babe wakes us up at all hours of the night."

"I wouldn't dream of it" Numair said reaching out to pull her to him. "Where are you off too today?" he asked, holding her close.

"I want to go and check on Cloud, seems I'm not the only one having children and she's about a crotchety as an old bear these days."

"Cloud's having a foal? I wonder…"

"Oh no you don't, I know that expression on your face Master Salmalin, you are not going to meddle with my family. You keep your academic nose out of her foal, you got that?"

"I was just curious as to whether it would have similar, more knowledgeable, attributes as Cloud does, after all, we know the affect you have had on her."

"Yes, well you can wait until I say before you go near her, you hear?" Daine stood slowly and reached over to pull on brown breeches and a pale shirt whilst Numair watched from the bed. "You should get up too you know, don't forget you have a meeting with the mages council today, then you have to go and see Alanna, she's having trouble with something in the infirmary." She threw a pair of breeches at him and walked to the washbasin to scrub her face and teeth.

Peeling the clothes of his face, Numair stood quickly, remembering the exact details of his conversation with Alanna the day before. A foreign illness had been found in one of the patients in the healers ward. Alanna needed Numair to check it for possible sorcery.

"You're right my love. I must hurry, Alanna sounded serious yesterday, I had better go to her before the council; the mages can entertain themselves for a while, nevertheless."

"Will you come for lunch with the riders? I know Onua has wanted to talk to you. Nothing urgent though, just gossip."

"I'll see magelet, I might get caught up with this illness, but I'll be there if I can. I'd better go" he scrubbed his face quickly then kissed Daine sweetly, rubbing his hand over her stomach. "You'll take care of yourself won't you? No overdoing anything, make sure you get plenty of food. Tell Onua I'll lock her in the dungeon if anything happens to you."

Daine laughed, pushing him away from her. "Scat", she said, grinning. "I'll be fine."

Numair swept her up for a final kiss before leaving, the door slamming closed behind him.

As Daine entered the stables, she let the thoughts of the horses swamp her mind, needing some relief from the confusion that had only just begun to ease. Making her way to Cloud's stall she breathed in the scents that made her feel more at home than anywhere else. Jumping nimbly into the stall that held her only true family, she buried her head in Cloud's mane, tears of relief filling her eyes.

_I told you the stork-man would be pleased._ Cloud told her mistress, stamping her hoof impatiently.

_I know,_ Daine replied her mind voice thick with tears, _only, I was so afraid. _

Cloud drew the carrot that she had smelt out of Daine's pocket and munched happily._ Yes, well your fear caused uproar in the people. You're lucky you weren't bombarded with people of all kinds. _

Daine smiled sweetly. _It's so nice to have so many friends_. _How are you feeling?_ Daine ran her hands over Cloud's bulging belly using her magic to feel for complications or problems.

_I have never felt a kit with more kick in it than this one. _

_Well, coming from you, he would have to be pretty fierce don't you think? _Daine grinned and reached for a brush.

"I cannot sense magic in it" Numair said carefully, pulling a blanket over the sleeping patient. "That is not to say it is not there, I have been tricked before."

"Yes, but who would be strong enough to trick you? They would have to be very powerful." Alanna was sitting beside the mage, her hand resting on the forehead of the young girl in front of her, purple magic, flared under her hand. "I feel nothing" she said softly. "But there must be something surely. This child is sick, yet I feel no illness, just a darkness, closing in. I can rid her of the rash and pain, but for how long? Unless we find the cause, if will simply continue to come back, and she is dying, she wakes rarely now."

"Have there been any other cases?"

"Four bodies were found outside the palace, all displaying similar symptoms, but we could not tell for sure."

"This is the first case within the palace?"

"Yes, Iriam is the daughter of one of the Queens ladies." Alanna smiled slightly as her one-time squire, walked into the room carrying a tray of fresh fruit juices.

"Neal" she said as she reached gratefully for a tankard. "How goes it?"

"It's all hands on deck at the moment" Neal said pulling up a stool. "Nobody has had any luck with this thing so far. Another death was reported outside the palace. Same symptoms." He frowned, his normally handsome face pale from lack of sleep and creased in frustration.

"I don't suppose you've had any luck Master Numair?"

"I feel…nothing. But then, I am not an expert at healing magic's, seeing magic sure, but if there's nothing to be seen then it makes things quite difficult."

"All those with any magic have said the same. They can find nothing magical within the illness, but then, we are having trouble finding the illness itself, so perhaps that is where the answer lies." He put his head in his hands miserably.

Alanna patted his shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find it, we'll figure it out." She said reassuringly.

"Yes, but, how many have to die before we do? Five lives already. Is that not enough?"

Numair sat with his eyes closed, analysing the patient again. As his eyes opened slowly, he began to speak. "We need to find where it began, go to the source. How did it get into the palace? Does this child have friends outside the walls? Talk to the families of those who have died, find out where they spent their time, what they ate."

Neal sighed. "The soldiers have been out since dawn, they have reported nothing so far."

"Well, send them out with a healer." Seeing Neal's expression he continued. "I know, all hands on deck, but the soldiers will miss things a healer will not. Go out yourself. You and Alanna are probably most fitting for the job."

"But then, there will only be novices and the Duke here doing the analysing."

"That does not matter. Analysing this will get you nowhere. There is nothing to analyse. You must find the source. I will head out myself, after I see Daine. She will be more than helpful for this. Animals will always what we do not." He stood slowly. "Can you pass on a message to the mages council?"

Neal nodded soberly.

"Tell them, I have more pressing matters and that Lindhall will make any decisions necessary. Also, tell them about this mysterious illness; that will keep them busy for a time."

"Will do." Neal left the room, head bowed in exhaustion.

Alanna watched him leave. "He won't last long in that state" she said quietly.

"No, but neither will she" he said gesturing to the girl in front of him. "I have to go. Daine will want to hear about this."

Alanna smiled. "Congratulations are in order, I believe." She stood to give her long-time friend a quick hug. "Don't let her run herself silly with this. She's going to need all the energy she can get."

"I don't intend on letting her out of my sight." Numair said smiling slightly. "I'll let you know when we're organised."

As Numair walked into the Riders mess hall, he spotted Daine straight away. Her light brown hair was pulled of her face by a green scarf, and she played with the napkin in front of her whilst talking intently to Onua and group commander Evin Larse. Hurrying over to them, he watched as Daine sensed his gaze and looked up. Seeing the expression on his face she stood immediately, causing Onua and Evin to look around for the object of her concern.

Reaching the group, Numair sat heavily.

"What is it?" Diane asked, reaching to hold his hand tightly. He was shaking slightly, she noted.

"It's this illness. You know the one Alanna was worried about?" The group nodded soberly.

"Nobody can figure out where it is coming from, so we're going out as a group to find the source. I came to ask if you felt you were up to it." He directed his question to Daine.

"Of course, I'll do everything I can to help, you know that. Do you want me to go and pack some things?"

"Just anything you need for an afternoon, we should be back by sundown."

"Did you want a rider group?" Evin asked. "I can get one organised straight away."

"We need as much as we can get. There have been five deaths reported outside the palace, and more occurring as we speak. We need to find the source, you know the drill."

"I'll do the best I can" Evin stood and walked quickly to a neighbourly table, talking quietly into the ear of an assistant.

"You know I would help" Onua said quietly, "but with Sarge ill, it's just me n' Buri and a new load of riders came in today."

Numair put his hand on her shoulder as he stood. "We'll let you know how everything goes." He gripped Daine's hand as they walked out of the hall together.

**Note: could you please let me know if you think my chapters are too long? I can't decide what length they should be. Thanks for all the fantastic reviews!**


	3. In Search for the Source

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tamora Pierce! **

* * *

Weary with exhaustion, Daine sat heavily against the trunk of a solid tree. Numair had headed back hours ago, too exhausted to even walk, and now as the sun set over the high tops of the trees Daine felt miserable. Despite the many people out searching for any sign of the disease, they had found only four more people with symptoms, but no sign of the source. Feeling a twinge on the edge of her senses Daine sat up. The group of cats she had been using to search had returned and were on their way to her.

_We have found the house of who is believed to be the first taken with the unseen illness. _Tabby, the female known to be the wisest in the small group curled up in front of her and Daine stroked her ears absently.

_I don't suppose you found anything that looked strange, or smelt funny? _Daine asked frowning in concern.

_Nothing._ The cat replied purring in response to Daine's gentle touch.

_I must go then. Can you show me where this place is? I will be able to tell the others. _

Tabby unfurled herself and headed in the direction of a small set of houses east of the palace.

Daine, following quickly, bumped into Evin who was commanding a rider group to search through the houses of the four taken sick.

"Daine" he said grabbing her arm gently. "You should have gone home hours ago, what are you still doing here?"

"I know the house of the first who died." She said quietly. "It has taken some time for the cats to get back to me, but I know now. I'm going to have a look."

"Well, wait, and I'll send someone with you. A mage would be best. Most are out though, I'll see who I can find. Wait here." He walked off, without letting Daine reply.

_He is quite forceful. _Tabby said from her position at Daine's feet.

_Yes, well, I imagine he knows that if I were to get in a word edgewise we wouldn't be standing here right now. _She felt the cat smile and grinned herself before sitting down.

It was only minutes before Evin came back, trailing behind him was Raoul and non other than the King himself.

"Majesty" Daine said standing. "What are you doing here? Surely it is to dangerous?"

Jonathan smiled grimly. "Another six bodies were just found. This thing is spreading quicker than we breathe. I am the only mage left who has any strength. It has to be me. Don't worry" he added seeing her incredulous expression. "Precautions have been taken to ensure my safety. Nobody is going to attempt anything, rumours have spread, this illness has turned into something so massive that everybody is trying to rush out of the city. We cannot allow it of course, we need to study the outset closely."

Raoul came to stand beside Daine, noting how exhausted she was before putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "Evin said you know where the first lived."

Daine nodded. "Tabby here was just showing me the way." She gestured to the cat who immediately began to lead once more.

The group followed, unaware that their strange procession was being watched by an entire city. Eventually, the crowds backed off as they came to a small tavern.

_Is this it?_ Daine asked the cat who had stopped on the stoop and begun to wash itself.

_This is it._

"We begin here" Daine said to the three behind her. "The source must be here somewhere."

Jonathan touched her arm briefly. "I want you to go home" he said gently. "We can take it from here. You should not have been out for so long, particularly in your…condition." He grinned at her cheerfully.

"What's this?" Evin asked looking from one to the other. "What condition?"

Daine was thankful for the dusk that hid most of her furious blush.

"You may as well tell him" Raoul said. "It's going to come out sooner or later."

Daine sighed. "I am pregnant" she said quietly.

"You're pregnant?" Evin asked "Then what are you doing here you crazy girl? We don't know what form this illness takes, we have managed to save no one from it yet and you're standing on the doorstep of where it all started? Get out of here! Go home!" he gestured at her to move.

Daine grinned. "So you'll let our great monarch risk his life, but not me? I am but a servant to Tortall's crown."

"Daine" it was Jonathan who spoke, and once again she found herself trapped in those bright blue eyes. "I am safe. I promise you that. This is necessary, it hurts me to see my people dying. I must help them. My own magic is safety enough against this."

"You mean, it does not affect those with the gift?" Daine asked.

"It would seem that way."

"Well, surely that suggests that it was created by someone with the gift?"

"That is why this is so important. Now please, go. Numair will have our heads if something was to happen to you, and even I can't compete with the greatest mage in Tortall." He tapped the side of his head with a closed fist as sighing Daine did the same. "I will come back tomorrow" she said as she began to transform into small sparrow.

"Relax" Jonathan said to her smiling. "You are to important to us to risk losing you."

Daine pecked his arm in concession and flew off.

* * *

When Daine entered her rooms through the window, she immediately changed to her human form and collapsed. Numair heard her hit the ground and went to her immediately. Placing her gently on their bed, he tucked the blankets around her and brushed a lock of hair off her pale face. She opened her eyes slowly and groaned as the room span.

"You overreached yourself, my love" Numair said softly, kissing her gently. "You shouldn't be doing that; it will wear out our little one."

"It was necessary" Daine said, taking the word of their King. "I wanted to be home as fast as possible. Did you find anything in your books?"

"Nothing" Numair said, "which is just what I thought I would find. Alanna told me that Jon is out there."

"Yes, he sent me home". She closed her eyes wearily.

"I am glad for that, sweetling. Much more of this and they would have brought you home on a stretcher. You sleep. I'm going to go down to the infirmary and get you something for when you wake.

* * *

Numair found Alanna talking quietly to girl Knight Keladry of Mindelan. Their conversation was intense but both looked up when Numair stood in the doorway.

"How is she" Alanna asked immediately.

"She's sleeping. She barely made it to our rooms before she passed out. Do you know if they made any progress?"

"Jon just let me know that Daine found the first house, which turned out to be a small Tavern. They are searching it now."

Numair sat down heavily and put his head in his hands. "It's so frustrating. I should be down there, but I'm dry. I've been looking in the library, but I have found nothing that even sounds vaguely like this."

"Well, Kel just told me of a disease that swamped the Yamani Islands over a century ago. It bears similarities to this."

"I don't suppose you'd mind filling me in?" Numair asked.

Kel smiled at the worn mage. "It was never thought to be real, but rather a Bairds tale or a story told to children to frighten them."

"Things like this, are very rarely believed the longer it is between the event." Alanna said quietly.

Kel frowned "after you've heard this, I don't think that you will want it to be real."

"Please, just tell us."

"It is said that a strange plague that caused death and destruction hit the Yamani shores, thousands of people died. First they got a cough, then a rash, then, they faded away to nothing. Only problem was, the mages were never able to find illness in their bodies; they could only see darkness overtaking each person before they died. They couldn't sense magic, but it was magic. Wild magic. They found a wildmage who was somehow able to create this illness. Not a wildmage like Daine, but a mage who was able to use the elements to create something no one had ever seen before. It was not until he was executed that the deaths stopped. But they never found out how he did it."

"Wild magic did this?" Alanna said quietly. "How is that possible?"

"If there's one thing that teaching Daine taught me, it was that anything is possible, especially when it comes to wild magic."

"How can we stop this?" Keladry asked weakly.

"We have to find the mage" Alanna said with determination. "And we have to do it now. This will destroy Tortall otherwise."

"Will Daine be immune to it?" Keladry asked "I mean, I know that regular mages haven't been affected, but what about Daine, does it make it worse or better for her?"

"Who knows" Numair said quietly. "But we need to get anyone without the gift back inside the palace walls. This thing is spreading fast. The mages are going to have to do this themselves. You need to call back Raoul and Evin, get them to bring anyone without a magical gift back with them. We need to set up a quarantine tent; they'll have to be checked. No-one who has been out there can come back in without going through myself or another mage first. That is imperative".

"I'll get it started." Keladry stood up and rushed out of the room.

"Have you got any power left?" Numair asked Alanna.

"I'm out, but I'll tap into my last if you stay here and watch. I'll probably be hit pretty hard after that."

"Okay. I'll make sure nothing happens. He watched as she bent over the fire her forehead creased in frustration as she slowly pored her life-force into the fire, turning it bright purple with her gift.

* * *

Author Note: How am I doing? Thankyou so much for all your reviews, and thanks for the advice on the chapters! I was worried they were a little long. If you think it starts to get boring at any point let me know! Eme.


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